


make this chaos count

by letusbebrave



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Project Cadmus, leverage au!
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-19
Updated: 2017-01-19
Packaged: 2018-09-18 12:45:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9385778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/letusbebrave/pseuds/letusbebrave
Summary: “You’ve never been the enemy, Danvers.”Neither friends nor enemies: it was different than that, they were more than that.aka the leverage!au





	

Meeting Maggie Sawyer was the moment for Alex Danvers. Place a trademark on it and move on. She had plenty of powerful moments in her life (losing her father and mother, gaining her sister, almost dying, blowing up her apartment and everything material she loved), but they didn’t change her in the way meeting Maggie Sawyer did.

Alex didn’t speak as she sat next to the now ex-lieutenant. A quick finger lift to the bartender and within a minute her drink was in front of her.

 _Well, this is different_.

Maggie’s fingers itched to grab for the handcuffs that were no longer attached to her belt. What a catch Alex Danvers could have been—maybe enough to save her career. No, nothing would of kept CADMUS from fucking her over at the end. (Although Maggie didn’t know if she’d even be able to bring Alex in if the opportunity arose. Luckily, the thief was always a step ahead of her.)

“Gloating isn’t a flattering look.”

“I’m here as a friend.” Alex turned to face her, her fingers giving away her nervousness as they tapped at the glass. They hadn’t gotten to sit down and drink together since they had just first met: years had come and gone, priorities shifted, they had both changed. The biggest change was now, Alex didn’t have to make sure the woman wouldn’t arrest her.

“Friend?” Maggie scoffed as she downed another shot. This isn’t a moment for the flirty banter that usually arose between them.

“Mhmm, the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” Alex drew her drink closer to her lips as she spoke, only taking a long drink once she was finished. They had never been friends, never been enemies; always somewhere stuck in between. “I think we’re on the same side now.”

How did she get here? This was the situation of her nightmares ( _or_ certain dreams including Danvers). She had lost her job; no, she was _fired_ from her job. There was no argument, no discussion—she had gotten too close to something and her whole life was ripped away. She had always wanted to be a cop, always wanted to help people. Now, in what should have been her pivotal moment, she had been disgraced just for that action. “I’m really not in the mood.”

“I’m not here... I know you, Sawyers. I could use someone like you. I know what we could do together.”

“Yeah, and what would that be?”

“Take down CADMUS.”

 _How the fuck did she get here_?

“We are on the same side now, Maggie.” Alex’s voice was softer than it was before. It echoed the night in Chicago when they had flirted in the bar, before all of this, before of what they had become. Now was her rock bottom. It was the only reason she even considered Alex’s proposal.

“Can I trust you?” No, she wasn’t worried about the mission or risking her values—she didn’t know if this faux-relationship between them was something that could sustain them fully. For all she knew about Alex, she didn’t know much at all. It had always been that way. Alex would give her just enough to help or flirt but never enough to show her any truth behind the woman. Whiskey burned at the back of her throat as she took another long drink.

“Can I trust _you?_ ” Alex retorted; her nose crinkled, fear hiding behind the confidence that she portrayed. Alex had more to lose if this went poorly—she was offering Maggie an open door, a hand into her life. Something she hadn’t offered anyone else before, an offer she wouldn’t make again. “Maybe not, but it’d be a lot more fun if we tried.”

_What the fuck happened?_

* * *

Alex Danvers planned every moment. Every single moment, every move was manipulated to suit their needs. Ever since she was 16 years old, Alex was ready to go. Ever since her parents were killed, she was responsible. Mistakes had been made, but she had learned from them. She had to protect Kara. Through different foster homes, Alex had always been the constant for Kara. Until she was 18, then she did what she needed to do to protect her little sister (and Winn, just a years later).

Alex became what she was to protect them. She knew she had to be a step ahead; she had Plan A – Z outlined _twice_ over before she made a move. To be fair, some were bad plans, plans that would end with more destruction than she liked. Some ended with death and she _never_ told Kara about those plans. Those plans stayed strategically in the back of her mind just in case. Luckily, “just in case” had only happened once.

All her plans, all her preparation couldn’t help her when she heard Maggie Sawyer had been fired.

All plans and secrecy were gone. The reward could be worth the risk.

            _big sis <3 : _don’t do anything stupid, i’m bringing someone home.

            _brat:_ WHAT?!

“I shouldn’t be surprised that you work above this bar.”

“Live there too.”

The apartment is more of a loft than anything else. The simple layout would have screamed Alex. Exposed brick accented the character of the place enough to make it feel warm instead of dark. A metal spiraling stairway led up to what must be the living space. It was expensive and nothing Maggie could ever dream of affording. Parts of the apartment didn’t match—the oversized love seat that was filled with light colored pillows, the painting easel set against the wall near an impressively sized window, a large cork board and corresponding white board. It’s slightly larger than she would have expected, but the majority of the floor was taken up by an oversized bar that had been converted into some geek heaven. The main wall was filled with multiple monitors that made up a larger image.

Perhaps she should of given Kara more than a 5 minutes heads up. The room was scattered around when they walked in further.

It was obvious someone had done a quick clean up of the place. The white board was streaked with marker and the cork board had bits of paper still attached to pins—like someone had ripped the papers off in a hurry.

“What did I say about not doing anything stupid?”

The first person out came from behind the desk with a shove.

“ _Kara!_ ” The man yelped as he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. Maggie swore she could hear something about _bulletproof_ under his breathe as he kicked against the desk out of spite. She recognized the man—he worked with Alex, he had been the one that had almost blown up the chief of police in Gotham.

“You said that before you brought Lord to the last place.” The next person appeared beside Winn within an instant. The woman stood cross-armed, looking a mixture between cross and worry.

Alex rubbed her fingers over her forehead while she shakes her head; that wasn’t not something she liked to remember.

“Everyone, this is Maggie,” Alex moved unnecessarily. “Maggie, this is everyone. Winn,” Alex points out as Winn looks at Maggie with the most pathetic doe-eyed gaze. Alex would definitely need to watch him. He at least had the decency to try to put on a neutral face once he caught her glare. “And Kara.”

“The sister,” Maggie smiled, she hadn’t recognized her.

Kara glares at her as if she could throw her into the sun if she said the wrong thing. Okay, _maybe_ , shooting someone’s sister was a bad introduction. “I’ve heard all about you.”

“Kara,” Alex drawled out her name out like a warning. “Play nice.”

“Are we being arrested?” Winn asked before Alex snagged the tablet out of his hands, earning her Winn’s attention once again.

“Pull up our CADMUS file.”

“Alex,” both voices call out and Maggie almost smiled at the terrified look on both of their faces.

“Pull up the file,” Alex repeats the command, handing the tablet back over the table to Winn. There was no way she could do the task at hand—that was Winn’s job. The words were softer the second time; _trust me_ was etched into her tone. It takes a few more moments before Winn even looked at the device in his hands. ( _Maggie has to remind herself that this is the same kid that blew up their last loft to get away from the PD. Yeah, that story was infamous.)_

“CADMUS, aka _the dark side_.”

“I’m regretting that movie marathon now,” Alex murmured as she crossed the short floor to grab at a bottle of whiskey. They all gravitated towards the center of the room—Maggie fleetingly felt out of place as she moved to lean against the table. Alex’s eyes flicked quickly to her and then back to the screens ahead of them. Maybe this was a bad idea.

 _(Plans H-Z all ended poorly, yet Alex still took the risk._ )

* * *

 

An hour later and Maggie knows more about CADMUS than the government would ever desire. She should have been able to detect it was Lillian Luthor behind the entire debacle. The details would need to be repeated, but the gist was clear. CADMUS had a hand in the local police department and Maggie had gotten too close with her investigations of the disappearances of the alien population. Winn had pulled all the information he could from Maggie’s devices before destroying them.

_“What the hell kind of phone is this?” Winn had scoffed as he had plucked the phone from Maggie’s hands. “No, you can’t use anything like this anymore. Here, take this.”_

Alex watched Maggie closely; they were exposed and she was unsure. Being unsure wasn’t part of the plan—she had to be sure. It was her job to know everything, to be one step ahead of everyone, yet with Maggie she was taking a risk. One that even glares from Kara underestimated. ( _Just to be safe, Alex had Winn make sure their failsafe was ready.)_ The night was more serious than any of the previous meetings and it had left with Kara leaving through the front door instead of the window. No, they couldn’t trust Maggie with that quite yet. Kara’s life was not negotiable.

“Your team is not nearly as frightening as everyone says, Danvers,” Maggie scoffed as she took her own seat at the table. The last few hours had exhausted her. It was only 2 days since she had been fired and now she was what… a criminal? “Especially Winn, you should hear the stories they tell about him.”

Alex leans against the wall, just enough respectable distance between the two of them. The stand would be confident to anyone else, but not to Maggie, she can see past it. It’s uncertain and vulnerable.

“Winn’s a craigslist find; had to adopt and get out of a bad home,” Alex joked.

“The academy doesn’t teach you anything about being recruited by criminals after termination. Although, considering, they probably should.”

“Do you know what you’re getting into?”

Any sense of small talk was gone. Maybe it was the alcohol clouding Alex’s judgment, but she couldn’t be okay without the uncertainty.

“You’ve never been the enemy, Danvers.”

Neither friends nor enemies: it was different than that, _more_ than that. Maggie swears she can see a slight grin on Alex’s face through the dim lighted room. The sunlight had disappeared during the briefing and they hadn’t bothered to adjust the lighting. First it had been the monitors projecting light upon their research, but now it would feel wrong to turn on more lights. Muted light encouraged the soft, vulnerable atmosphere between them; it reminded them of all the nights they’d met before.

“I know who I need to be,” Alex disclosed. If they were the bad guys, so be it. Alex’s loyalties didn’t lie on the side of right or wrong. “But after this is over, even _if_ it goes to plan, I can’t promise your job back.”

Even with her planning and connections, Alex didn’t know if she’d be able to swing for Maggie’s position back in the department. Plans like this didn’t go down clean—there were always messes. Taking down CADMUS meant risk: identities being exposed, money lost, reputations ruined, lives lost. Kara and Winn knew the risks and what they may lose. They had been with Alex during the development phase; they had encouraged the mission. It wasn’t just a job; this one was personal.

“Better than the alternative,” Maggie’s eyebrow arched when she smiled slightly. “Besides, I already told you… you’ve not the bad guys here.”

“You’ve always been the good guy,” Alex smiled, honest to God _smiled_ and yeah, any reservations slipped away. “It’s made it fun.”

It was late and they were tired, but Maggie couldn’t stop thinking how mesmerizing Alex looked. The window shades were cracked and the moonlight hit against the floor—her view of Alex was limited, more shadows sketched over her features than anything. The light was overrated—the darkness didn’t look so grave with a sight like Alex Danvers in it.

“Running on the rooftops of Gotham.”

Oh, Gotham. Darkness had been entrancing there as well. ( _Maybe it had been Alex after all that was the one that changed the darkness for Maggie_ ) “Geez, imagine us as partners.”

“What about now?” Alex asked. The smile had slipped from her lips; Maggie only wished it had been there longer. Partners with Alex Danvers: who would have seen the day?

“I don’t know.” It was honest and late and maybe they had drunk a little too much. She cleared her throat before pressing the home button of her new phone. “It’s after midnight.”

“It’s always after midnight with us.”

“I meant it’s getting late. I think I need to go home and lose my cool for a little bit.” Too close for comfort was a bit of an understatement. Whatever this was with Alex deserved more than this. Alex wasn’t someone to give into for simple comfort in the midst of her darkest moments.

No, whatever they had been deserved to have a better story than this one. Not now.

“Oh, right, you probably shouldn’t go back to your apartment though.” Right, CADMUS probably still wasn’t too happy with her. “Winn ran a check and there are some officers outside watching your place. I’ll send Kara over to get any essentials tomorrow.”

Wasn’t that fucking fantastic. She wondered if they sent over Miller or Scott over to stake her out. Those losers were probably dying for the chance. “Guess I’ll go find a motel.”

“You can stay here. I mean… there’s an extra bedroom that Winn usually crashes in.”

“I do need someone to go back there tonight though,” Maggie mentioned. “Is your apartment dog friendly?”

* * *

 Ford wasn’t at all what Alex expected.

A heap of loving golden retriever met her at breakfast the next morning. It wasn’t remotely the type of dog Alex had imagined Maggie to have. He was full of hair and absolutely gorgeous, who wasn’t a sucker for a grey-faced golden retriever?

 _Kara is going to love him_.

They had never had a pet—neither had Winn. Growing up like they had, they couldn’t have pets. It would have slowed them down, kept them from doing their job fully. ( _Alex couldn’t imagine what would of happened if Ford was with them during the debacle in Gotham.)_ As soon as he had said his hello to her, Ford had moved towards the door, tail wagging faster after a few moments. Within seconds, Kara and Winn were through the door.

“Ford!” Kara squealed in delight as she saw him. She dropped to her knees slightly too hard as she buried her fingers into his fur. Kara had brought him back from Maggie’s apartment the previous night.

“What a traitor.”

Alex hadn’t realized Maggie had snuck behind her, a smile pulled at her lips. Even Maggie couldn’t be upset with the actions of her dog. Ford was old—her parents had told her he was depressed without her around. He had been a part of her life since she was teenager. He had finally calmed down enough by eight to be a comfortable apartment dog. Now at thirteen, Maggie couldn’t imagine not having him with her. 2 cities, 3 ex-girlfriends and countless sleepless nights had only cemented the bond between the two of them. Yet, here with Kara, he was absolutely enamored.

“I think he’s fallen in love.”

“Everyone loves Kara,” Alex reasoned; there was no reason to believe the dog wouldn’t fall in love with Kara. Animals had always been drawn to the alien. Back when they were growing up, Alex thought of it like another superpower—her little sister was practically a Disney princess anyway. Animals circling around her head like a halo were just a part of the package.

“Still a traitor.”

Winn’s cough interrupted all of them. A disgusted look was plastered on his face as he had skirted around Ford and Kara’s reintroduction. “Can we please stop with the love fest? I got things to do.”

“Like what? Standing out in the rain all night for a video game?” Alex teased as she stole one last glance at Maggie and her smile—oh goodness.

Winn mocked shock with a hand to his heart. “That’s rude. You don’t have to be rude.”

Maggie still skirted around the background as they all settled into their spots. Winn pulled up the information on the screen and Kara had, _god dammit_ , found a way to fit the large golden retriever into her lap as she sat cross-legged on the floor. It was going to become a problem eventually, but Alex didn’t have the effort to care.

“So what do we do? How are we going to go after Luthor?”

Three sets of eyes were on her: each had their own glint of disbelief in them. “Oh no, we are not going after Luthor yet. What are you crazy? We’d be shot down within minutes even with—ouch!” Winn yelped at the sudden elbow in his side. He cringed at the next warning poke into his side by Alex. Eventually they would need to tell Maggie about Kara, but for right now they needed to test her.

“What Winn was _trying_ to say was we can’t just go after her. That would be a suicide mission. We don’t work like that. No, we have to start small. Gain more information before we can even start to draw out a plan how to take her down. CADMUS had ties into a lot more than we even know—they got you fired for just even looking into the disappearances,” Alex’s voice was strong an confident as she stared at the monitors.

Maggie could do slow; she didn’t _want_ to, but she knew how to play the long game. They were right, CADMUS had more involvement than she even realized. Taking away the head of the organization may be self-rewarding, but it wouldn’t take down the organization. That had to be the goal, not revenge.

“We need information.” Even Winn didn’t have the knowledge on CADMUS that they would need to move forward.

“Winn,” Alex ordered.

He shot a quick glance over to Kara’s position on the floor before pulling up something on his tablet and flicking his wrist for it onto the monitors. “Got it,” he mumbled as he awaited Alex’s explanation. “Lena Luthor.” Within a moment a flurry of information was on the screen in front of them. Maggie scooted into a chair as her eyes read across the screens. “Adopted daughter of Lillian Luthor and sister to Lex Luthor. She took over Luthor Corp once Lex went to jail two years ago.”

“We need to see if she has any link to CADMUS,” Maggie muttered, starting to see the plan form ahead of her. “How do we get in?”

“I need access to their computer systems. Until then, I can’t break through their security without alerting them to us.”

Alex’s eyes danced across the screen. “She’s hosting a party this Saturday for their grand revival of their new name… lots of attention, lots of security at the party—all on the wrong place.”

A low-risk mission seemed like the perfect spot to test out Maggie’s skills.

“So, how do you like parties?”

**Author's Note:**

> this happens when you graduate college and have nothing to do until you find a real job. or aka i watched leverage and couldn't get this idea out of my head after falling in love with nate and sophie. there will be 3 parts of this fic, this is the prologue. 
> 
> oh and literally the names for the text come from my sisters in my phone. 
> 
> kudos and comments make my entire week
> 
> talk to me about the feels on tumblr @ hopecannotbefalse


End file.
